Instinctive issues

[Tracy Bellamy]

I started as a kid shooting coumpounds but i shot split finger with no sights..And i did gap shoot.I have recently moved over to traditional and im 35 now.Im shooting instinctive but im having a hard time trying not to go back to gap shooting.It just comes natural to try to gap shoot.My question is to give in and gap shoot or just try to pound the instinctive shooting into my head    its a major delima here..
Thanks

[ozy clint]

do whatever you enjoy more. don't shoot instinctively if you don't like it. whatever getsthe arrow there.

[Terry Green]

This is suppose to be fun....no need in beating yourself up over an aiming style.

Just make a decision and go with it....if that don't take you far enough down the track, then make another decision.

[BLACK WOLF]

There really are no rules or laws that state you have to shoot a trad bow one way or the other.

In most archery indeavors...the goal is to hit your target.

Most of us who have picked up the trad bow have choosen to learn to shoot it without sights which opens us up to the possibilities of choosing between a few different barebow aiming techiniques.

Each aiming techinique will have advantages and disadvantages under certain circumstances. It's up to the individual archer to choose one or more that fits their abilities, personality and goals.

I've personally taught myself to be able to aim Instinctively, Gap and Point of Aim...depending on the shot and the circumstance.

Choose an aiming techinique that gives you the most enjoyment...whatever that maybe.

Ray    

[Tracy Bellamy]

I'm having fun no doubt there.I really want to shoot instinctive..But i guess it will take time to feel out what works best.

[McDave]

If you want to shoot instinctively, you should also want to shoot a lot of arrows, because that's what it takes to get good at it.  You see people shooting baskets at a playground for no other reason than it feels good to them to be out shooting baskets, without keeping score, without practicing some new technique, just the joy of shooting baskets.  That's the same feeling you need to have if you want to shoot arrows instinctively.  Improvement comes slowly.

As Ken Beck told us in our instinctive shooting class at Black Widow bows: "One of the disadvantages of instinctive archery is that you have to shoot a lot of arrows.  One of the advantages of instinctive archery is that you need to shoot a lot of arrows."  It can cut both ways, I guess, depending on whether you find it enjoyable to shoot a lot of arrows.

[Jayrod]

Like mcdave said shoot alot "practice make perfect i shoot everyday atleast 25-30 arrows but dont shoot to much and develop bad habits

[longbowguy]

There is no harm in being aware of your gap for a given distance. Just keep your main focus on the point you intend to hit. Over time you will need less conscious awareness of the gap.

Stump shooting, roving, quick shooting and shooting in low light can all help. - lbg

[sdpeb1]

I've only been shooting traditional with my longbow for 6-7 months now. I never did anything but point and shoot. I didn't shoot alot this summer but have shot alot this fall and it's fun to point and shoot and hit what you want without thinking about it. It just take alot of shooting to get to that point, I'm not sure I am going to keep shooting instinctive though because I mostly do archery to bowhunt and it's takes shooting everyday to be good at instinctive. I've can say I have reached that point to a moderate degree now. I'm not even sure what gap shooting is but I'm sure it doesn't take as long to get good at it does with instinctive.

[Cory Mattson]

Gap shooting is totally cool. I do not do it myself - just wired different - but a couple a buddies do - and they are great game shots. Instinctive is only cool if it comes natural and you are accurate enough to hunt. Sights don't bother me either - whatever gets the arrow there.
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[fireball31]

I used to do a combination of the two.  To practice shooting purely instinctive I started shooting at a target with a yard light pointed at it after the sun went down.  I couldn't see the arrow that way and it forced me to not pay attention to the gap.

[BLACK WOLF]

One of the best ways I have found to develop good Instinctive shooting is to work on developing better proprioception.

Proprioception is needed more for Instinctive Aiming than any of the other aiming techiniques and one of the best ways to develop your proprioception is to shoot in complete darkness shooting at a lazer pointer rather than a candle or a flashlight...even though those are good tools to use also.

With the lazer pointer there really isn't any residual light used to be able to see ANY outline of your bow riser, hand or arrow. It basically eliminates any sight picture.

It's best to do this with a buddy or position yourself to be able to turn a light on in between every shot for feedback so you can try and learn to correct your body position and bow arm to hit the target. Shooting groups in the dark is also benefical.

An Instinctive archer also needs to shoot in lighted conditions to further refine their aiming abilities.

EVERY archer who shoots at a target will use a sight picture to some extent or another...consciously or subconsciously unless they are blind or shooting in total darkness. Our eye sight aids in visualizing deepth perception/ distance...something that really can't be done in total darkness.

An archer either learns to use the visual cues within their sight picture consciously or subconsciously and some will rely more on their proprioceptive abilities more than others...and those archers are usually the ones who are aiming Instinctively.

The great thing about archery is that there are so many different ways to do it...even when the different ways also share alot of similarities.

Just start experimenting a bit to find what works best for you.

Ray  

[McDave]

One of the ways I find that instinctive archery is actually easier than other shooting techniques is the relative ease of focusing on the target.  Of course, in instinctive archery, we still need to refine our focus on the target, but generally this mean "picking a spot" rather than focusing on a broad area of the target.  But at least in instinctive archery, we are not tempted to focus on something other than the target, because there is really nothing else to focus on (I know, maybe a deer's antlers, but that's another story).

I shoot gap at longer distances, and found that I was missing to the left on many shots.  Knowing that every element of form is critical at longer distances, I took apart everything I could, wondering if I was somehow torqueing the bow, plucking my release, not following through, or anything else I could think of.  What it came down to was that in trying to keep the arrow tip in my peripheral vision, I was focusing somewhere other than on the spot I wanted to hit.  It wasn't that I was focusing on the arrow tip; I know enough not to do that, but I wasn't focusing on the spot I wanted to hit either.  It was hard for me to keep the arrow tip in my peripheral vision while continuing to focus on the spot I wanted to hit, so sometimes my focus drifted - I don't know where.  But when I found out what I was doing, it became a relatively easy thing to solve.

[Lt. Dan]

I think you should use both methods and choose the one you like for a given situation.  Try shooting in low light conditions.  Or if you can shoot in the dark.  I have the blackhole target with old carpet light colored on the side showing.  Only enough light to see your grip hand and that black target.  It's fun.  I'm usually surprised at the results.

[Tracy Bellamy]

I'm shooting about every chance i get here lately, I think what it came down to was confidence, I have developed a little now, And my instinctive shooting is starting to come in, Really happy with it to say, I dont believe i had the confidence that i was going to hit where i was looking, And shot hesitation and a little target panic arrose,So therefore sometimes i wouldnt get to full draw and more than common at the last second try to focus where the end of my arrow was just before i would release, Bad arrow flight, the troubles was endless, But Practice and more practice and a little bit of confidence goes a long ways, Theres nothing like seeing that arrow fly straight and tru, This is a addiction that makes you feel like a kid again, so fun, You guys are great,Help around every corner, Its quiet amazing..

Thanks
Tracy

[McDave]

One of the things that helped me to overcome target panic was the realization that good form and coming to full draw with good back tension were the most important factors in making a good shot.  I know that if I set up right and come to full draw, I will hit pretty close to the mark even if my focus wavers.  I also know that if I am focused, but don't set up right and don't come to full draw, the arrow could end up almost anywhere.